COP30: A turning point for the Just Transition, nature finance and the role of private capital
The BVCA’s Sustainability Policy Executive, Breeze Haywood, reflects on the outcome of the most recent COP30 negotiations.
Breeze highlights the UK’s role in advancing global nature finance and how private capital is well-positioned to help develop innovative finance mechanisms to further mobilise capital at scale.
COP30 in Belém marked a pivotal moment for the global climate agenda, one that broadened the conversation beyond carbon reduction alone and moved toward biodiversity protection and both the social opportunities and consequences of the green transition. For the private capital industry, and particularly UK investors and policymakers, the summit delivered signals that are simultaneously promising and incomplete. The challenge now is converting the agreed voluntary commitments into investable pathways that can accelerate real-world progress.
Just transition moves to the forefront
One of the defining themes of this year’s COP was the elevation of the just transition agenda, which seeks to reduce inequality as the world transitions away from fossil fuels towards net zero carbon emissions. While previous COPs acknowledged the just transition’s importance, COP30 made it central. It served as a clear reminder that the ‘S’ in ESG must not be treated as secondary within the transition effort, as outlined in the BVCA’s response to Labour’s consultation on Making the UK a Clean Energy Superpower.
For private capital, there is a further opportunity to strengthen funding for inclusive transition planning and nature-positive projects that embed social equity at their core. The BVCA has been engaging to help shape these emerging frameworks, including our feedback on the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures’ transition planning guidance, which highlights the need for clear guidance that supports companies in achieving social positivity whilst developing nature-related transition plans.
Broadening the Climate Agenda Beyond Carbon Capture
The COP30 negotiations saw the establishment of the Open Coalition for Carbon Market Integration. This project aims to harmonise practices and standards, to improve common accounting rules for monitoring, reporting and verifying emissions, ensuring the integrity of these markets to support the Paris Agreement and a just transition away from fossil fuels.
Despite a broadening of COP’s climate action to encapsulate nature, these mechanisms remain voluntary. COP30 did not deliver a roadmap for fossil fuel phase-out, eroding the urgency of the original 1.5°C goal agreed at the Paris conference over a decade ago. Without binding commitments, progress will rely heavily on the commitment of governments and the finance markets including private capital to continue to push forward.
However, this is not to say COP30 has entirely stalled progress. The UK’s pivotal role in advancing global nature finance was a win for the conference. The launch of the Biodiversity Credits Policy Forum, supported by the likes of DEFRA and Natural England, signals growing momentum for natural capital markets. This presents an opportunity for the private capital industry to collaborate in developing innovative financing mechanisms and high-integrity voluntary nature markets, as outlined in our response to Raising Integrity in Voluntary Carbon and Nature Markets consultation, to further mobilise capital at scale into nature-based solutions.
Energy Security and what this means for the UK
This year’s COP was, in many ways, shaped by the geopolitical context of the global energy transition. With global political instability rising, from war in Eastern Europe to tensions in the Middle East, there is a need for greater energy resilience. Countries are accelerating the deployment of domestic renewable energy as a matter of national security. For example, the war in Ukraine has catalysed DTEK’s (Ukraine’s largest private energy company) shift away from concentrated fossil fuel infrastructure towards more renewable energy assets.
Transitioning to a low-carbon economy with a safe, secure energy grid will require trillions in investment and private markets are uniquely positioned to mobilise this scale of capital, provided the right policies and regulatory environment are in place. Their long-term investment horizons, operational expertise and strategic agility allow them to support companies not only financially but also in transforming business models to align with sustainability goals. Private capital firms are embedding sustainability into portfolio companies’ core value propositions, enhancing their commercial viability and positioning them for successful exits, as well as investing in the green solutions of tomorrow. Blended finance can also play an increasingly important role here, de-risking private capital investments and providing advantages for firms to build out and expand their green investment portfolio.
Overall COP30 brought progress, ambition and bold ideas, but also highlighted the risks of voluntary commitments and the absence of a fossil fuel phase-out plan. Private capital now has a critical role to play in implementing these signals into scalable solutions that accelerate a just, secure and nature-positive transition.
Authored by Breeze Haywood,
Sustainability Policy Executive, BVCA
